"An Exploration of Reasoned Madness" This blog is about my attempt at leading a structured, normal life while yet piecing together my fragmented mind.

Monday, May 14, 2007

The Short Stories

The following week, I went to the local Barnes and Nobles and purchased a collection of short stories written by Philip K. Dick. The particular collection was "Minority Report and Other Short Stories". Of course, honoring the instigating factor in my investigations, I read "The Minority Report" first. It was essentially, about a police officer, Jon Anderton, who is head police over the pre-crime division which consists largely of pre-cognitive individuals who can tell the future if and when someone was going to be murdered.

Jon is indicated of murdering a general who supposedly wants power over the pre-crime unit. Jon gets away with it (well, almost, he is actually sent to a penal colony along with his wife) because of the minority report. Without going into further details, I did not sense any familiarity with the story until the very end, when Witworth placed his hand on the door of Anderton's vehicle and slowly walks with them as if he is personally escorting them. It is at that instant, I remember having read that story. It was a really strange feeling, a sense of remembrance so strong it is not deniable, yet no proof is available, either.

Most of the other short stories in that volume seemed interesting and like something I would myself write, but the familiarities with most of them ended there. Over the course of a few months I bought the rest of the short stories, and although I did not read all of them, I did read a majority of them.